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Why are points used where furigana would be normally?
Sometimes in mangas there are points where you would expect normally furigana. What meaning is it supposed to have?
olorin
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6 answers
Why the "H" is pronounced as "Sh" in some cases?
My first question is about the rules of pronunciation of the letter "H".
Some people pronounce the "H" as if it were "Sh". For example, "Shijutsu" instead of "Hijutsu", or "Shiyori" instead of "Hiyori".
Is there any rule about it? Or is it just a…
Mediterran81
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4 answers
When is it appropriate to use お疲れ様 (otsukaresama)?
I know the general meaning of using お疲れ様です／でした to express gratitude for some work, but I'm a bit fuzzy about appropriate times to use it.
I know it is a common saying when leaving for the day, and I've also seen it in email when replying to someone…
Troyen
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30
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1 answer
What exactly is a "taru adjective"
On the talk page of the Wikipedia article on "Japanese adjectives", user Dougalg suggested nearly two years ago:
I know these are falling out of use, but still exist. If anyone can give an explanation of the taru adjectives, I'm sure that would be…
hippietrail
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29
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2 answers
What's the difference between the kanji forms for わかる?
The verb わかる can be written using either 分かる, 判る, or 解る - what's the semantic difference between these forms, if any?
bdonlan
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29
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2 answers
Is ま (ma) related to ほ (ho) or は (ha) related to よ (yo)? What does adding a bar to the left mean?
I understand these character similarities might be arbitrary, like M and W being flipped. But it's tripping me up enough times that I thought if I knew a reason, perhaps it would help me memorize these characters.
ち (chi), き (ki), and さ (sa) are…
ubershmekel
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3 answers
Adjectives functioning both as イ- and ナ-adjective
This question has made me think about the class of adjectives, which can function both as イ- and as ナ-adjective, e.g.
大きい 大きな
小さい 小さな
真っ白い 真っ白な (etc.)
細かい 細かな
暖かい 暖かな
四角い 四角な (etc.)
柔らかい 柔らかな
In my (non-)answer to the question, I…
Earthliŋ
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4 answers
Why doesn't 分かる have a potential form?
This question may be related to What does で分かる mean? (Cf. Tsuyoshi Ito and my comments to my answer).
(Regular) verbs can be turned into the potential form by attaching -((ra)r)e-:
tabe-ru vs. tabe-(ra)re-ru
kak-u vs. kak-e-ru
However, the verb…
user458
29
votes
2 answers
Why is 知りません the negative form of 知っています？
I'm reading Minna no Nihongo (Chapter 15) and it says what I wrote in the question. I would think the negative would be 知っていません。
dotnetN00b
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29
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1 answer
Did ありがとう come from Portuguese "obrigado"?
I have heard before that ありがとう came from the word "obrigado" in Portuguese. Is this true and is there any evidence to support this, or is it an old wives' tale?
Jesse Good
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29
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3 answers
29
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4 answers
How can I tell if a Japanese person's given name is male or female?
I am hoping that there may be some particular kanji and/or sounds used in determining if a persons given name is male or female.
Jack Bosma
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29
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4 answers
Distinguishing certain characters in handwriting and print (Similar-looking Kana and Kanji)
Japanese has some sets of characters which look very similar or even identical. Obviously, context is usually more than enough to distinguish which character is intended, but I'm wondering if there are subtle differences which can be used to…
Zhen Lin
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1 answer
So-called の-adjectives - how does の *really* work?
Ok, so there seems to be some controversy over whether we can really say that there are 'の-adjectives', or whether we simply use a noun in an "attributive" way (a term which I don't actually really understand). But it's clear that there's something…
Karl Knechtel
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3 answers
When to use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい
When does one use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい? For example, in phrases like:
先生は野菜を食べて欲し｛いです・がっています｝。
My incomplete understanding is that the がる form is more formal/polite, but it can only be used when the subject is not currently present in the room. …
Mark Hosang
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